[On Stage] "Chamber Music Reveals Composer's Inner World, Making It Captivating"

20th Anniversary of Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival, Pioneering Korea's Chamber Music History
Director Kang Dong-seok: "Proud to Have Contributed to the Development of Chamber Music"
"Sunwoo Yekwon Won the Van Cliburn with a Piece Performed at SSF"
"Pianist Cho Seongjin Also Performed at SSF at Age 15"

"To see all the capabilities a composer possesses, you must listen to symphonies, and to understand the composer's inner self, you must listen to chamber music."

Violist Professor Kim Sang-jin of Yonsei University explained the charm of chamber music by comparing it to symphonies at the press conference for the 20th Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival (SSF) held on the 14th at Andong Church in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Professor Kim said, "If the most popular music genres among the public are opera and symphony, the genre musicians like the most is chamber music," adding, "Chamber music is a work written to express the composer's side they do not want to show externally, their most sincere inner self."

Pianist Professor Kim Young-ho, Emeritus Professor at Yonsei University, who was sitting beside him, introduced chamber music as the genre where performers can develop musically the most.

"In solo performances, performers tend to exaggerate freely and play to stand out, but in chamber music, you have to listen to other performers and play together. When you listen to others' music and harmonize together, your musicianship develops greatly, so I think chamber music is the greatest help for a performer's development."

Professor Kim Sang-jin of Yonsei University, Artistic Director Kang Dong-seok of the Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival, and Professor Emeritus Kim Young-ho of Yonsei University are taking a commemorative photo at the press conference for the 20th Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival held at Andong Church on the 14th.
[Photo by Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival]

SSF, which started in 2006, has reached a meaningful 20th edition this year. This year's SSF will open on April 22 and run until May 4, offering 14 performances at venues such as the Seoul Arts Center, Sejong Center Chamber Hall, and the Yun Boseon Old House in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Professor Kim Young-ho, Emeritus Professor, and Professor Kim Sang-jin attended the press conference as living witnesses who have never missed an SSF stage since the first edition. Violinist Kang Dong-seok, SSF Artistic Director who founded and has led the festival until now, was also present.

Chamber music, usually performed by about five musicians, is a genre that the public finds more difficult compared to symphonies and operas. When SSF began, there were no chamber music festivals in Korea, making it a barren land for chamber music. However, through SSF's steady introduction of chamber music, the number of domestic chamber ensembles winning prizes at international chamber music competitions and performing on the world stage has recently increased significantly.

Artistic Director Kang Dong-seok reflected on the past 20 years, saying, "I feel a sense of pride because SSF seems to have greatly contributed to the development of chamber music in our country." Kang revealed that the chamber music festival actually started in 2003. At that time, Kang, who was the music director of the French Coucheville Music Alps Festival, brought it to Korea and held the 1st Hoam Music Alps Festival at Hoam Art Hall. The Hoam Music Alps Festival has continued under its current name since 2006 with support from the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Kang said, "Compared to 20 years ago, the importance of chamber music has become better known, and there are more competitions where chamber music has become a part." He added, "When pianist Sunwoo Yekwon won the 2017 Van Cliburn International Competition, he performed chamber music pieces he had played at SSF in the competition finals."

Sunwoo Yekwon was the first Korean to win the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in North America. The day his victory was confirmed was June 10, 2017. Just before the competition, on May 19 of the same year, he performed at SSF and then boarded a plane to the United States. In the competition finals, Sunwoo performed Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 and Dvo??k's Piano Quintet, the latter being the very piece he played at SSF on May 19. He gained practical experience on the SSF stage and then achieved great success in the competition finals.

Professor Kim Sang-jin recalled, "I remember Sunwoo saying he had no time to practice because the competition was the following week. Despite having many performances, he delivered an excellent chamber music performance at SSF and then won the competition, becoming a very famous pianist now."

Professor Kim also introduced Cho Seong-jin, currently recognized as one of the world's top pianists, who performed with him at SSF. Cho participated in SSF in 2009 when he was 15 years old. Professor Kim said, "We performed Mendelssohn's Piano Sextet together with pianist Cho Seong-jin and double bassist Sung Min-je. They are now very active world-class performers, but back then, they were really young students."

Professor Kim said that many young performers like Sunwoo Yekwon and Cho Seong-jin have grown into world-class artists after showcasing their talents on the SSF stage, which is a source of pride for SSF.

"Most foreign festivals are not generous to emerging young musicians because they have not been verified through competition wins. SSF is open in that regard, so many young performers participate. Therefore, you can meet a wide range of performers from Director Kang Dong-seok in his 70s to teenagers. Many of these young performers grow into excellent artists recognized worldwide within a few years."

Violinist Kang Dong-seok, artistic director of the Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival, is sharing his thoughts on the 20th anniversary at the press conference held on the 14th at Andong Church.
[Photo by Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival]

Artistic Director Kang Dong-seok said there are many excellent but unknown works, and it is the festival's duty to introduce such pieces. He expressed the joy he feels when introducing these works and shared some pieces he hopes the audience will take interest in during this festival.

"Two works by Austrian composer Walter Rabl will be performed: a beautiful quartet for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano on the 23rd, and a fantasy for piano trio scheduled for May 2. French composer Andr? Jolivet's Christmas Pastorale (April 26) is a unique trio for flute, bassoon, and harp. Ukrainian composer Sergey Yuferov's piano trio (April 26) is very lovely and interesting. German composer August Klughardt's work was a string quintet last year, and this year he prepared a piano quintet (May 1), which is very good. Joachim Raff's fantasy for piano quintet (May 2) can also be heard."

Kang expressed hope for stable financial support for the future operation of SSF.

He said, "Actually, we have to plan the festival one or two years in advance, but the support amount is confirmed only two months before the festival opens, making it difficult to secure performers. Even if we cannot plan far ahead, I hope SSF can continue in a stable environment."